Montmartre Cemetery

In the mid-18th century, overcrowding in the cemeteries of Paris had created numerous problems, from impossibly high funeral costs to unsanitary living conditions in the surrounding neighborhoods.

In the 1780s, the Cimetière des Innocents was officially closed and citizens were banned from burying corpses within the city limits of Paris.

It was initially known as le Cimetière des Grandes Carrières (Cemetery of the Large Quarries).

It was built below street level, in the hollow of an abandoned gypsum quarry located west of the Butte near the beginning of Rue Caulaincourt in Place de Clichy.

As is still the case today, its sole entrance was constructed on Avenue Rachel under Rue Caulaincourt.